States pressure Craigslist

HARTFORD, Conn. » Craigslist should remove its adult services section because the website cannot adequately block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution and child trafficking, attorneys general in 17 states demanded yesterday in a joint letter.

"Only Craigslist has the power to stop these ads before they are even published," said Kansas Attorney General Steve Six yesterday. "Sadly, they are completely unwilling to do so."

The joint letter acknowledged Craigslist faces the prospect of losing revenue if it were to remove the adult services section. No Hawaii official signed the letter.

"No amount of money, however, can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist," the letter said.

Craigslist supports states' efforts to stop illegal exploitation, spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said in a statement that did not indicate whether the website plans to get rid of its adult services section.

Some of the encounters set up through Craigslist have ended in violence and even death, authorities have said. The website has put safeguards in place, but state officials believe Craigslist is still not doing enough.